Waiting sucks, doesn't it? And I'm not just talking about the movie, though it had its moments. I'm talking about what a writer does a lot of -- just waits. Waits to hear back from magazines, from agents, from publishers. And then, if accepted, waits for the story or novel to actually be published. And then once it's published, waits for someone to actually read your story or buy your novel and maybe email to let you know they liked it or hated it. Waiting, waiting, waiting.
The other week I had a very long conversation with Blake Crouch. We talked a lot about publishing and self-publishing and I mentioned how I was releasing The Calling soon and that I was going to wait a few months before I released my next book.
"Why?" he said.
"Because."
"Because why?"
"Well, because ... I guess I'm not sure why."
"There's no reason to wait," he said. "Waiting between release dates is old school thinking."
And of course he's right. Traditional publishing doesn't want to oversaturate the market with just one writer. They want to drag it out. Release the hardcover and wait a year for the paperback. Then release another hardcover and wait another year for the paperback. Again and again. But if you're trying to build an audience, having as many e-books available is the thing to do. And if that means you have books ready to go, it makes no sense to just sit on them for a month or two or three. After all, just imagine the potential sales you could be missing.
This isn't to say you should always rush into self-publishing your e-book, if self-publishing your e-book is what you want to do. You should always wait until it's the best it can be. But when it is, why wait? This is why over the course of the next year I hope to release at least two, if not three, more e-books. These are all books that are already written and have been collecting dust on my hard drive. I just now need to go back through them and dust them off and get them prepped.
In terms of The Calling, the "official" release date isn't until Monday, but I thought you might like to know it's now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords (a special thanks to Horace Torys for the last minute notes). It includes a sneak preview of my next novel, too. All for a special introductory price of 99 cents (that's dirt cheap, people!). Or, as always, you can pay with a tweet or Facebook post. Check her out. In the meantime, see you next week.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZX0f4CL-T8